Salt Lake City Intermodal Hub

Salt Lake Central is the name of UTA portion of the Salt Lake Intermodal Hub and that is the station name used on all route maps and schedules (bus, the FrontRunner, and TRAX).[10][11] The intermodal hub is in the Free Fare Zone of Downtown Salt Lake City which allows transportation patrons that both enter and exit bus or TRAX service within the Zone to ride fare free.[5] The intermodal hub is also located within the Quiet Zone, so all trains (including Amtrak's) do not routinely sound their horns when approaching public crossings within this corridor.[21][22] Unlike most FrontRunner and TRAX stations, there is only a small Park and Ride lot in close proximity to Salt Lake Central.[10][11]

There are also multiple UTA Bus service routes that include Salt Lake Central as one of their stops. Local bus service is provided to all areas of Salt Lake City, as well as a few other cities within Salt Lake County. Bus service is also provided to the Kimball Junction Transit Center in Summit County via High Valley Transit, where connections with Park City Transit can be made.[23] Previously UTA offered service from the hub to Park City via the PC-SLC Connect, but ended that service on December 11, 2022.[24]

FrontRunner platforms

The FrontRunner has 23 weekday Ogden–Provo round trips via Salt Lake City with five additional round trips between Ogden and Downtown Salt Lake City. Saturdays consist of 15 Odgen–Provo round trips. Trains operate hourly between approximately 5:00 am and midnight on weekdays (increasing to half-hour runs during morning and evening commutes), with slightly later service on Fridays. Saturdays consist of hourly runs between approximately 6:00 AM and 1:30 AM. As of 2022, the system does not operate on Sundays and some holidays.[25]

Formerly the FrontRunner provided service further north of Ogden, to Pleasant View, before that service was cut in 2018.[26]

TRAX platforms

Service by TRAX and the FrontRunner commenced on April 27, 2008,[8] with the opening ceremony on April 26 at 12:30 pm. Salt Lake Central is the northern terminus of the TRAX Blue Line and the former northern terminus of the Green Line. There is no direct connection at the hub with the Red Line, nor the Green Line (following its reroute to the Salt Lake City International Airport). The Blue Line provides service to Draper in southern Salt Lake County as well as connections with the Green and Red lines at other stations (with the Red Line providing service between University of Utah and the Daybreak Community in South Jordan in southwest Salt Lake County and the Green Line providing service from West Valley City to the Salt Lake City International Airport (via Downtown Salt Lake City).

Amtrak Salt Lake station

The intermodal hub is served by the California Zephyr, which provides once-daily service to Emeryville, California (in the San Francisco Bay Area), to the west and Chicago, Illinois, to the east on Union Pacific trackage in both directions. (The next westbound stop is Elko, Nevada and the next eastbound stop is Provo.)[27] Amtrak's official listings (for train service) refer to the intermodal hub as Salt Lake City, UT (SLC).[12] Amtrak was the first tenant of the intermodal hub, constructing a "shack" (initially meant to be temporary) in 1999.[6] In addition to the California Zephyr, Amtrak offers its Thruway Motorcoach connections with service to Boise, Idaho (including stops in Odgen and Twin Falls) and to Las Vegas, Nevada (including stops in Provo and St, George.) Service for both Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach routes is provided by Greyhound Lines.)[28] Amtrak's official listings (for bus service) refer to the intermodal hub as Salt Lake City, UT – Bus Station (SLB).[29]

Greyhound Lines provide bus service to points all across the United States. Some of its routes are operated in partnership with Amtrak's Thruway Motorcoach. The Greyhound station has been closed.

Other transportation companies that serve the hub include Mountain States Express.[30]

Greenbike[Note 1] is a bicycle sharing system (differentiated from bicycle rental)[32] within Downtown Salt Lake City operated by SLC Bike Share (affiliated with B-cycle). The Greenbike program is intended for short bicycle trips and allows members to pick up any of the available bicycles at any of the many docking stations and then drop it off at any docking station (does not have to be the same docking station where the bicycle was picked up). Greenbike offers 7-day and annual memberships, but 24-hour passes are also available for non-members. Greenbike members are allowed unlimited short trips, with a trip being defined as the time between when the bicycle is removed from a docking station and when it is returned to a docking station. However bicycles may be kept longer than 30 minutes between dockings for additional charges.[33] In addition, members can start a "new trip" immediately after returning the bicycle to any docking station.[31] The bicycles provided by Greenbike are equipped with GPS tracking system that records and provides the member with the miles ridden (and calories burned). Greenbike is seasonal and, depending on weather conditions, shuts down operations in November–December and starts up again in March–April.[31] Other Greenbike docking stations are located near the City Center TRAX, Gallivan Plaza, and Library stations.